In our transactional society, it’s hard to think about customers in the long-term. But if we want to be as successful as we can as an individual or as a business, we need to view customers through a relationship lens. What do we need to know about them to keep them and grow our business with them? What if we truly viewed customers…as family?
Believe it or not, there is a word (depending on what dictionary you check) called Familying. It is defined as: Supporting, providing emotional or practical help to family members.
If we consider customers in a long-term relationship-oriented manner, we could define our role in a customer family as being those supporting, providing emotional or practical help to customers.
To be most effective in helping them long-term, we have to get to know them. Let’s break down FAMILYING in terms of what we need to know to build relationships with customers:
F is for Fiscally understanding our customers. They are customers of our business because they are spending money or resources with us. The better we can understand their economic situation, the parameters within which they can spend money on the types of products and services we have to offer, the better we can tailor our offerings to meet their needs.
A is for understanding the customer’s Attitude and their emotions. Some customers in the moment or in general are very emotional, and we have to be cognizant of that and address the emotions as much as the topic at-hand. Others are less emotional, and we can deal more with them on the facts and the figures. The better we can understand the emotions, the better we can understand how to engage them effectively.
M is for understanding their Motivators. Why are they with us as a customer, and why could they leave? The more we understand the reasons behind their decisions, the better chance we have of affecting their decisions to stay or to go, to spread positive or negative word-of-mouth.
The ILY is embedded in understanding our customer’s fiscally, attitudinally, and motivationally.
The ING in FAMILYING with customers is the ING I’ve brought up a few times before in these tips. The better we understand their Issues, Needs, and Goals, the better we can help them resolve their Issues, address their Needs, and support them in achieving their Goals.
To develop a long-term relationship with customers, get to know them Fiscally, Attitudinally, Motivationally, and what are their Issues, Needs, and Goals. Start with a little FAMILYING.
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